The Report

The Report

Starring Adam Driver, Annette Bening, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Morrison

Directed by Scott Burns

I consider myself a "closeted political junkie," meaning I love politics and all the good and bad with it, but I pretty much refuse to talk about it with other people because I don't particularly like getting involved in pointless arguments that just result in people insulting other peoples' intelligence since they got no intellectual argument for their side.  "The Report" is one of those political thrillers I enjoy, but this one was a bit more dry than most - there was no real conflict, no sense of danger, and pretty much consisted of characters talking about the same things over and over, but still managed to be engaging due to a strong ensemble cast.

The film centers around the real report issued by Senators Dianne Feinstein and John McCain about the torture (or "enhanced interrogation techniques") that the U.S. government authorized after 9/11, showing that prisoners were subjected to all sorts of unethical torture means to gain information, but ultimately didn't learn anything of importance.  Feinstein (Annette Bening) enlisted the help of her staffer Daniel Jones (Adam Driver) to write and research the report, without the aid of the CIA, relying on literally millions of emails, letters, and other correspondence.  The investigation took Jones over five years spent on the basement of a windowless room, where he turned his investigation into a obsession for the truth, and despite the red tape, managed to craft a 6,700 page report that showcased the unethical ways the government tried to extract information and the uselessness of the intel gained.

When a film like this is made that's not based on real life, you'd expect the main character to be targeted by a shadow government organization bent on never getting the truth out, and he would have to find ways to survive car bombings, assaults on his family, and other terrible things - but real life is sometimes less interesting, and thankfully the real Daniel Jones didn't have to go through any sort of threats to get his work done.  Unfortunately, that doesn't show well on the big screen, and the result is an almost two-hour film filled with board meetings and guys in suits talking about much more interesting things, with a few flashback scenes depicting those atrocities.

If there was a lesser actor at the lead, I would've fallen asleep in the first hour, but thanks to Adam Driver, he managed to make even the most boring moments thrilling in his own unique way.  Although he's been typecast as Kylo Ren from the recent "Star Wars" trilogy, Driver has a very versatile performance palette that goes beyond popcorn action films, and he has some serious dramatic acting chops that was proven last year when he earned an Academy Award nomination for his work in "BlackKklansman," and will easily earn another nomination this year for "Marriage Story."  Here he manages to keep things interesting and gives another strong performance.

While it doesn't offer much in the ways of exciting storytelling, "The Report" sheds light on one of the darkest moments in modern history, told through the eyes of a real American hero delivered by the impeccable Adam Driver.

The Score: A-